Gears of War: E-Day confirms Horde Siege and Versus, open beta coming in August

The Coalition held a nearly 28-minute E-Day Direct and confirmed that Gears of War: E-Day launches with two multiplayer modes: Horde Siege and Versus. Both got fairly brief segments in the show, but they're officially on the slate.

Horde Siege supports 12 players split across three squads, all fighting together against the Locust Horde on maps built around Kalona, the city where the main campaign takes place. Versus returns to the classic 4v4 structure with new maps, also set in Kalona, designed to take advantage of the new traversal mechanics — jumping, sliding, and so on — while staying symmetrical. The Coalition says more details are coming soon.

There's also an open beta on the way. Pre-ordering gets you in early, but the beta opens to everyone a few days later with no purchase required — same approach Call of Duty and similar games use. The Direct's wording suggests Horde Siege content will be part of the beta too. E-Day is an Xbox console exclusive, landing October 6th on PC and Xbox Series X/S — no PS5.

Most of the Direct focused on the co-op campaign and the new movement tech, so the multiplayer segments felt rushed for a game arriving in early October. The August beta should fill in the gaps.